Learning beyond the school week

How a local education charity is creating a community space where children can learn, grow and build confidence beyond the school week

What if helping children thrive isn’t just about what happens between Monday and Friday?

This autumn, LocalMotion Enfield is supporting Success Club to pilot a new ‘Saturday School’ programme at the Lancaster Centre in Enfield.

The 15-week course is aimed at children in years four, five and six and will bring together learning, creativity, mentoring, wellbeing and mindfulness, creating a regular community space where children can learn, grow and build confidence beyond the school week.

The programme is particularly focused on ensuring that children and families who face barriers to engaging with activities and opportunities are able to take part. By providing a welcoming, community-based space close to home, the pilot aims to make it easier for families who may otherwise be excluded from enrichment and personal development opportunities to participate. Success Club was created by Tony Dallas, who has spent many years working with children, schools and communities. The organisation has been working in schools since 2014 and became a registered charity in 2018.

Its work is about much more than academic achievement; Success Club supports children’s confidence, wellbeing, personal development and ability to flourish both inside and outside the classroom.

Tony has also placed mindfulness at the heart of Success Club’s approach. Members of the team have undertaken mindfulness training, and mindfulness is used alongside creative activities, movement and opportunities for children to talk and connect.

For children, mindfulness isn’t about asking them to sit still and empty their minds. It can give them practical ways to notice their feelings, manage strong emotions, concentrate, pause before reacting and develop greater awareness of themselves and the people around them.

These skills can support children’s confidence, relationships and readiness to learn. The timing matters. Children and families are navigating pressures that don’t disappear when the school week ends. For some, there are few affordable opportunities nearby to develop friendships, confidence, creativity and wellbeing outside school.

Schools do an enormous amount, but they cannot – and should not – be expected to provide everything children need to thrive. This is where community can play a different role.

Success Club is part of the Enfield Youth and Community Alliance, one of LocalMotion Enfield’s partnership initiatives. Saturday School gives us an opportunity to explore what happens when community organisations work together to create a stronger network of support around children and families.

And we want to hear from local families. If you live in the Lancaster Road area of Enfield and have a child in years four, five or six, we’d love to hear if you would like your child to be part of Saturday School. The sessions will provide a welcoming space for children to learn, be creative, develop confidence, practise mindfulness and build positive relationships with other children and trusted adults.

This is a small pilot, but we hope it can teach us something much bigger; how communities, families, schools and local organisations can work together so that every child has more opportunities to thrive.

If you’d like to find out more about Saturday School, contact Success Club:
Email [email protected]
Visit successclub.org.uk

This article is published with support from LocalMotion Enfield, part of a UK-wide movement for community-led change

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